MANY YEARS LATER

Blood. That was all she could taste when Chase Fletcher sent a final punch to her face, his eyes widening when he finally backed away and stared blankly at her bruised body. He was back to reality, and through her blurry vision she could see that his hands were shaking, his knuckles tremulous as he noticed they were pink and smeared with her blood.

"No," he breathed. "No, no..."

His voice trailed off as she stood up quickly and shuffled away, searing pain throbbing everywhere. When he approached her, she winced. "Please!" she cried. "Stop!"

He took a step backward, unable to say anything, so she took the chance to bolt away from him fast, slightly looking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following her. He didn't. Instead he just stood there, watching her with a weight of guilt heavy in his chest.

Cadence made her way into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her and closing her eyes, pressing her forehead to the door as she locked it. She breathed heavily, her throat tightening. The memories of her childhood came flashing back again. Her older brother disappearing, her mother dying, her aunt and uncle and their daughter Alice, her old friends; Madison, Parker...

She'd been messed up since the start.

Pressing her palms to the counter, she glanced at the reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles and her skin was all pale and sickly-looking. She wiped the blood from her lips, then slowly reached for the tap and turned it on. Listening to the water pour, she placed her hands into the sink and let the cold liquid run along her fingers. I'm going insane, she thought. And then she squeezed her eyes shut and breathed. I need to get away.

***

That night, when Chase finally fell asleep, she packed some clothes and collected all of the money she could find, making her way into the kitchen and searching the cupboards. Placing some makeup, snacks and water bottles into her bag, she pulled it over her shoulder, exiting the room.

Discreetly, she tiptoed towards the main entrance, silently unlocking the door. She did her best to keep quiet, but anxiety swirled inside of her stomach and her heart pounded so loudly, she feared he would hear it. She planted her feet into thick boots and slid on a thin, shabby jacket, along with a woolen hat. Opening the door, she felt the fresh breeze dance along her skin, the cold night air coursing through her lungs.

She shivered, the bone-chilling wind spearing through her coat as the snowflakes bit at her skin. Shutting the door behind her, she just stood there, staring at it blankly for a few seconds.

People said that Cadence Hendricks had always been a mystery.

Her mother had died when she was just a kid, the same week her brother had gone missing. It was a homicide, was what she was told. When she didn't know what a homicide was, her aunt and uncle elaborated. Ma was murdered. Killed.

The memories of her mother were a bit of a blur, but she could still remember her big brown eyes, and the rare smile she sometimes put on that sent happiness rushing through Cadence's veins. She also remembered her brother, and the memories of him were more vivid. The image of his face still haunted her.

The memory of her childhood was in bits and pieces, but there were a few moments she could recall. She still remembered her brother leaving, and she still remembered finding her mother sprawled across the floor, dead.

When Cadence was young, she made it her mission to find out who her mother's killer was. She didn't know how she'd find out, but she sure was determined. She'd interrogate people; ask questions that nobody knew the answers to. Then by the time she was a teenager, she gave up. She didn't care anymore. Her mother was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Cadence had always wished for one thing, and one thing only -- for the world to go away. She'd found comfort in running away for a while; disappearing for a short amount of time. But she'd always been found or returned for the sake of being homesick. Her aunt and uncle, who had adopted her shortly after her mother's death, were worried for a little while. They even booked Cadence to see a psychologist. But when they had their own child, Alice, they stopped caring. Cadence was who she was, and there was nothing that they could do about it.

Now she was back to the start; running away. Again.

Cadence had lost count of how many times she'd taken off and then returned. At this point, she knew she would go home, but there was a spark of determination in her. She didn't want to return. She couldn't.

Cadence was now in her early twenties, running away from yet another problem; her boyfriend. Chase Fletcher was a charming, good-looking guy, with a bad temper. But he loved her. A lot. Cadence knew that the situation she was caught in was bad. She just had trouble getting out of it. She didn't know where she was going, or what she was doing. She didn't know what would happen next. All she could do was hope that she was clever enough to improvise a plan.

There was another problem, though; she loved Chase too. On the days where he was calm and composed, at least. He wasn't always mad. When she'd first met him, he was different. She believed he could change -- become the person he was when she met him. He didn't.

Now, she just stood in front of their home, contemplating whether or not she should leave. She'd done it before. She could do it again. If worse came to worst, she'd return. Again.

She took a deep breath and stared for a little while longer, before turning around and walking away, slowly and carefully, a sharp pain spearing into her. It spread through her blood and consumed her. Anxiety made it hard for her to breathe; it felt like someone was sitting on her chest and whispering threats into her ear, evoking all of the memories from her past. She wanted to scream. She wanted to scream and collapse into tears and curse at God for putting her in this cold and stressful world she so desperately wanted to escape from. But she didn't. She didn't scream, she didn't cry, and she didn't turn back.

As she made her way further and further into the distance, her gaze felt pulled towards the sky. The moon was yellow and bright, illuminating the dark sky, framed with millions of small stars. She thought of her brother, wishing she knew where he was and how he was doing. She remembered how once, her mother had kicked her brother out of the house and she'd found him just sitting on the lawn in the front yard, watching the stars, peacefully. It was one of her favourite memories of him.

Some days Cadence wondered whether or not he was even alive. Maybe Austin didn't just runaway. Maybe it was more than that. She had no idea. She sighed at the thought of him and tried to think of something else.

She thought of Parker.

She'd known Parker forever; ever since they were kids. She wondered how he was doing now. Memories of him came flooding back; from the time she dared to step on the thin ice at the local pond and fell through even though Parker had told her not to, up until the time her mother died and she went to him for help. She frowned at her thoughts again and tried to erase them.

***

Cadence made her way to a bus stop, hugging herself to keep warm. After a while it started to rain. The droplets of water pattered along the grimy patches of snow scattered amongst the ground, creating puddles of rain everywhere. She stood under a light post, it's dim orange hue acting as a spotlight over her as she let the rain pour onto her, her hair and clothes sticking to her as she shivered. A bright light cascaded through the empty streets, the bus slowing down as it neared her stop. She climbed in, sliding the only quarters she had found in her pockets into the coin slot. Though she hadn't paid enough, the bus driver let her take her seat.

She sat down next to a man around the same age as her, looking out the window with earphones in. For some odd reason, he seemed familiar. Cadence observed him, recognizing the eyes and the nose and the hair and the habit the guy had of drumming his fingers against his knee. Then it dawned on her all at once.

It was no other than her old friend, Parker Callahan. He hadn't changed one bit.

When he caught her staring, he stared back at her for a few more minutes. Parker knew the girl looked familiar. Finally, his eyes widened. "...Cadence?"

She looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She looked like a mess; her hair was all knotted, her eye makeup was smudged under her eyes and she could feel her face reddening. "Hi Parker."

His face split into a smile, one in which again, hadn't changed.

"What are you doing here?" Cadence asked, avoiding eye contact with him. "I thought you moved away."

"I did," he shrugged. "But I came back once I turned eighteen. I prefer it here."

"Oh," she said, "well welcome back."

"Thanks," he replied, still smiling. "What have you been up to? Long time no see."

She wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't really done anything major since she'd seen him. So instead, she muttered, "Not much."

He offered her a grin then glanced out the window and turned to her. "My stop is pretty soon, but if you want, we can exchange numbers so we can keep in contact. You know, it's a been a long time. I'd like to catch up after all these years."

"Um, sure." She replied, taking his cell phone with tremulous hands as he extended his arm and handed it to her. She gave him her phone, and the two punched in their numbers before Parker got up and pushed a red button, signalling for the bus to stop. "Well, I gotta go. This is my stop. It was nice seeing you, Cadence."

"It was nice seeing you too."

***

After Cadence got off of the bus, she wasn't sure where to go. She stood on a sidewalk in the middle of the city, looking around. After a while, she reached into her pocket and took out her cellphone, staring blankly at it as she wondered who to call. She scrolled through her contact list. She couldn't call her aunt and uncle; the last time they'd seen each other they'd accused her of being a bad influence on Alice and kicked her out of their home. She hadn't spoken to them since, and wasn't planning to.

After what seemed to be ages of just staring at her phone, she finally dialled a number she hadn't called in a while.

"Hello?" A familiar voice picked up.

Cadence could feel her throat tightening and her heart racing as she finally managed to say, "Madison?"

There were a few seconds of silence before Madison finally replied in a very confused tone, asking, "Yes, who is this?"

"Cadence."

"Cadence... Hendricks?"

"Yeah, it's... Me."

"I haven't heard from you in ages!"

"I know," Cadence breathed. "Look, Madison. I know you're busy, but I really need your help."

***

Cadence's heart beat faster than the wings on a bird's first flight when she recognized the vehicle slowing down as it neared the bus shelter she stood under. It was the same bright red car that Chase owned.

The window rolled down, revealing Madison's familiar face. She hadn't changed all that much. Her thick cinnamon coloured hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, her lips polished with dark lipstick. Her face split into a wide smile. "Cadence!"

Cadence hadn't seen her in forever. The last time she'd seen Madison, she was around eighteen. Madison had gotten into an argument with her over some guy Cadence had been dating at the time. The memory of him washed over Cadence now. She remembered how in love she'd been. To her, the guy was perfect. He was smart, attractive, funny... Madison had been right, though. He didn't feel the same way about Cadence.

Suddenly, Cadence felt uncomfortable. After all, she'd been proving Madison right once more. She couldn't let her know what Chase was really like. She couldn't. So instead, Cadence put on a fake smile, straightened her posture and grabbed the handle, pulling open the door and hopping into the car. "You have the same car as Chase." She said, laughing half-heartedly.

"Chase..." Madison repeated, beginning to drive away. "Oh my god, Chase as in... Chase... Your boyfriend? The guy in all of your facebook posts?"

"Yeah." Cadence said blandly, starting to feel an uneasy feeling stirring inside of her stomach.

"Oh my god!" Madison squealed. "You have to tell me everything. Do you love him? Is he the one? He's pretty cute."

Cadence began feeling uncomfortable. She swallowed hard and looked away. "Yeah."

"Where's Chase right now? Does he need a place to stay too?"

"Um, no. Actually.... Things haven't really been working out. I was thinking I should take a break away from him, you know?"

White lies always came in handy.

Madison shifted awkwardly. "Oh," she said. "Well then, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Thanks."

The car slowed down and stopped as it reached a red light. Madison turned to Cadence, wearing a bright beam. "So, how's life been? What have you been up to?"

Parker had asked her the same question.

Cadence hadn't known what to reply. So she thought about it for a minute, and then the lies came pouring out of her just like they had when she was a little kid.

She too, hadn't changed one bit.